The Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals are set to square off on Tuesday night in a battle of Southeast Division foes. But the game is more than that as it marks Alexander Semin's return to Washington, the place he spent the first seven years of his NHL career.

Semin signed a one-year deal with the Hurricanes worth $7 million this past offseason. And at least one his former teammate is not sad that he is no longer a member of the Capitals.

Alexander Semin has 14 points with the Carolina Hurricanes this season. (AP Photo)

Troy Brouwer, an outspoken forward for the Capitals, shared some criticisms of his former teammate with The Washington Post.

"Some nights you didn't even know if he was gonna come to the rink," Brouwer told the newspaper. "It's tough to play alongside guys like those because you don't know what you're gonna get out of 'em."

Brouwer added that "it was tough to his lose his scoring ability when he wanted to play. But all in all, I think we've been doing well without him."

This is not the first criticism to get out of Washington regarding Semin's effort. In the summer of 2011, former Capitals player Matt Bradley said in a radio interview that the Russian winger "just doesn't care."

Semin had 197 goals during his tenure with the Capitals but saw his goal totals drop his last two season in Washington following a 40-goal season in the 2009-10 campaign.

In 17 games with the Hurricanes, playing primarily with Carolina captain Eric Staal, Semin has four games and 10 assists.

Hurricanes forward Tim Brent took to Twitter on Monday to defend Semin against Brouwer's comments, writing, "I can say on behalf of his teammates that we love having him here, and he has been a big part of our success so far with his consistent play and work ethic. NOT only his scoring ability. I hope he sticks it to them."

Brent is not the only Hurricanes player to be impressed with Semin.

"He has been nothing but great," Staal told TSN.ca nearly two weeks ago. "He's been a great teammate for everyone in this room and the type of guy who competes in practice and in games and that's all you can ask for."

Brouwer also addressed the change in culture under new coach Adam Oates while picking apart the regime of Bruce Boudreau, who was fired early last season and replaced by Dale Hunter. Boudreau is now the coach of the Pacific Division-leading Anaheim Ducks.

"It was very lackadaisical, I would say," Brouwer said. "Kind of guys were able to do whatever they pleased. There wasn't a whole lot of accountability. And then when we had a little bit of trouble and there needed to be accountability, it wasn't received exactly with welcome arms, I'll say.

"And then with Hunts everything was very strict, making sure guys were blocking shots, maybe getting them out of their styles of play as far as particular players go. And then with Adam, I mean everyone's still accountable, everyone has to do their job, but he's letting guys play the way that makes them successful — goal scorers need to score, checkers need to check. Everyone's got a defined role on the team now."

The Capitals may have defenseman Mike Green back for the contest. He says he is "good to go" after missing the team's past three games with a groin injury.

Washington has struggled under Oates, posting a 6-10-1 mark which has been good for 13 points and last place in the Southeast Division.